1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image reproduction system and method for the reproduction of images on a support material. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for controlling the operation of an image generator, a memory and a printer together constituting an image reproduction system.
2. Description of Related Art
A related system is known, inter alia, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,782. A set of images which is to be reproduced a predetermined number of times in a predetermined sequence is termed a "job" in the '782 patent. The memory operates as a buffer between the image generator and the printing system so that the image generator and the printing system can in principle operate independently of one another. This means that the printing system can continue to operate in the event that the image generator malfunctions, and vice versa. If a malfunction occurs in the image generator, the printing system continues to operate until it is ready to print an image not yet stored in the memory.
This means that in the system according to the '782 patent cited above, all the images already stored in the memory are still printed in the event of a malfunction in the image generator. Even if the malfunction occurs during the printing of a set of images and the image generator is still generating image information for that set at the time of the malfunction, the images already generated and stored in the memory will still be printed.
A disadvantage of the '782 system is that it is completely uncertain whether the rest of the set that is not yet completely printed will be printed after the malfunction has been remedied. Even though the job recovery procedure of the apparatus enables the user to print the remainder of set after the malfunction has been remedied, because of the image generator malfunction the integrity of the remainder of the set is questionable at best. In practice, the images already printed are frequently discarded, particularly if the malfunction is serious and of a long duration. One reason for this is that the user is not always prepared to wait until the malfunction has been remedied before the set is printed. If, after the malfunction has been remedied, a user were to have the remaining part of the set printed the selected number of times and in the predetermined sequence, he would also have to check whether the images printed respectively before and after the malfunction are in agreement with the selected number and the predetermined sequence in which the images of the set in question should have been printed. That is another reason for a user to completely reprint the entire set and discard the part of the set already printed before the malfunction. The result is a considerable waste of support material, usually sheets of paper. The amount of support material discarded can be fairly large, particularly if the memory has a considerable storage capacity, the set is large and/or the number of times that the set is to be printed is large.
An object of the invention is to prevent wasting support material in the event of a malfunction in the image generator. Another object is to provide a method and apparatus that controls a printing system to prevent wasting a support material when an image generator malfunctions.